Finland renames ‘Negro Island’ as Seppanen amid global anti-racist protests

Amidst the global protests against racism and racial inequality, Finland has decided to contribute to the movement in its own way by changing the name of an island because the island currently has a ‘racist name’. As per reports, the island located in the Pyhaselka Lake in eastern Finland bears a name that roughly translates to ‘Negro Island’ — a derogatory word used to refer to black people.

Finland changes 'absolutely derogatory' name

As per reports, the state-run Institute for the Language of Finland (Kotus) has claimed that the name is ‘absolutely derogatory’ and has concluded that Finland should not have any racist expression in its official maps. The government is currently in the process of removing the racist name from its official documents and the island will now be referred to by its previous name, Seppanen.

Reports have indicated that the island itself has no links to colonization, slavery, or black people. The island previously belonged to the North Karelian Association of Journalists. The island's racist name derived itself from an old-fashioned Finnish term that translated to ‘journal negro’ which was a reference to journalists and how they would often get stained due to working with dark ink used for printing.

Read: Pelosi Calls For Removing Confederate Statues From Capitol

Read: London May Remove Statues As Floyd's Death Sparks Change

US removes Confederate Statues

Two senior members of the Congressional Black Caucus on Thursday, June 11 proposed a bill to remove the Confederate statues from the Capitol following nationwide protests against police brutality and racism discrimination in the wake of George Floyd's tragic death in police custody.

Read: Statues Boarded Up In London Ahead Of Anti-racism Protests

Read: George Floyd Death: US Lawmakers Introduce Bill To Remove Confederate Statues From Capitol

Representative Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) and Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) introduced the bill a day after Speaker Nancy Pelosi called for removing Confederate statues from the Capitol complex.

Lee in her statement said, "Americans in all 50 states and millions of people around the world are marching to protest racism and police violence directed at people of color, and yet across the country, Confederate statues and monuments still pay tribute to white supremacy and slavery in public spaces".

California leader further affirmed that “It is time, to tell the truth about what these statues are -- hateful symbols that have no place in our society and certainly should not be enshrined in the US Capitol.”

(Image Credit - Pixabay/Representative Image)